Survival and Love
by XxZerohZeroh
Summary: The villagers have kicked Micah out after discovering that he is half monster, and forces him to live on his own. Amongst all the people in the village, Raven is one of the select few that don't think badly about Micah. How will their relationship develop under these circumstances? And will the people of the village ever come to accept Micah as their own again?
1. Chapter 1

AznxStarrZ

Chapter 1 - Exiled

It was during the darkest hour of night when the most tragic thing happened to me. I was getting ready for bed when I heard a somewhat angry rumbling coming from below the Sharance tree. I assumed it was one of my Buffamoos fighting over which was dominant in the barn. I had merely sighed and reached over to grab my rucksack filled with tools to discipline them. I had slowly trudged down the long flight of stairs of the front entrance. When I reached the bottom, I had noticed an eerie tension in the air. Being half-monster, it was easy for me to distinguish it. What had confused me, was the fact that the strange auras were coming from the villagers. I called out a hesitant "Hello?" thinking that something drastic had happened to them. Then, one by one, they stepped out onto the road at the base of the Sharance tree. I was confused when I saw them. They were all staring at something with.. hatred. At first I had naively thought there was something behind me. I looked around and saw nothing. Then I faced the Mayor with a slight nervousness in my eyes. The Mayor in turn, glared at me with a fierce gaze.

"You..", he had said. "You are a monster! A damned beast. A creature who seeks after the lives of my people!", he had straggled out with malice in every word.

I was frozen in shock. They had found out? When? How? I had been very discreet about my secret. In fact the only time I had ever transformed was in the deepest parts of the dungeon! There was no way any of the villagers could have possibly trailed me and seen me change.

Unless. It was that time before I knew of my other side. The only other time I have ever changed outside of the dungeon.. And even that was unknowingly... Was it when, I had first arrived in Sharance? When Shara had found me? No.. It couldn't possibly be.. I had transformed subconsciously, but no one was around during that time. Shara was also, no offense intended of course, too dumb to piece two and two together. So I looked at her, with a slight fear and question lining my face. She in turn had, just like her father had, glared at me as angrily as he did with the slightest bit of accusing betrayal showing in her eyes. That's when I figured it out. She had discovered my secret and ratted it out. The whole village knew, and all or most hated me for it. I briefly glanced around and saw only fear, hate, anger, and betrayal evident on their faces.

A shadow passed over my face as I began to chuckle at the sheer irony of the situation. All this time, I had feared of this day. Most of the people here were my closest friends. People whom I had once confided secrets in. Beings whom I had helped because I wanted to. It was only yesterday when I was considered a love interest and a friend. Yet only a mere hours later, was considered a monster. How long have I served in this village. How long have I given in to the selfish needs of these people. How long have I been stupidly blinded by the thought that they would understand who I am?

Meanwhile I have still been laughing like a madman. They look so nervous and frightened.

How delightful.

I pull my head up from it slouched position over my chest and stare at them. An icy coldness takes over in my eyes as I gaze at them. They seem shocked to say the least. They never thought that kind little Micah could ever be cruel looking. Why should they be shocked though? After all.

I am just a monster.

I take a slow step forward. They take a hasty step back. I smirk in my mind as I remember how feeble these people were. Calmly I step closer and closer, coming face to face with the Mayor who seems to be attempting to steel his body in order to hide his growing fear. I smirk deviously. He gulps visibly.

"Boo."

That's all I have to say before the villagers have their weapons merely inches from my neck. I turn to the person standing closest to me. It's Karina. Even the lazy little daughter of the village's only general store was willing to actually work to get rid of him. Didn't she want to go to the city? And wasn't I the one who helped her learn skills to survive there? Guess it doesn't matter now does it? Then I turn to see Collette. What happened to all those times when I gave you my lunch because you were 'starved'? What about you Sakuya? I gave you all those precious monster items to help you in your sales. And Pia, you loved my fried squid dish. Carmen, the person whom I had once fondly called master. Evelyn, I let you dress me up in those atrocious things you called clothing. Sofia, I was one of the few that learned how to decipher your way of speaking. Marian, I let you test your dangerous concoctions on me. Raven.

Raven..

I looked around and finally saw her. She was crouched a ways off from this angry mob looking forlorn. She caught my gaze and stared back with an emotion that can only be deemed as regret and sadness. I saw tears begin to prick at her eyes. For some reason, I couldn't watch. I slowly faced the Mayor again. This time, with less contempt.

"I will leave."

Those three words seemed to calm the crowd by even the tiniest of amounts. They parted slightly and allowed me to quickly leave down to the split road. I sauntered over towards Vale River without sparing even a single glance back.

* * *

It wasn't as if I didn't know how to survive in the dungeons, because I did. It was just the fact that I didn't have all the tools I needed. Sure I had all the things I needed to farm, but I didn't have any seeds that would grow in winter. That was the least of my worries though. What I was missing was a weapon. Without a weapon I would be forced to change into my wooly form which would stick out like a sore thumb. I couldn't just go to Sol Terrano either because the weather there would make me suffocate from the heat. That left me with the choice of either using my farming tools as weapons, or sneaking back to the Sharance tree to grab some weapons. I would prefer to choose the latter, but it would include a certain amount of risk. If I were to be caught I could be chased down and killed, not that I was worried since I was the best fighter in the village. Then there is the possibility that the villagers threw out everything in tree with all haste. In that situation, I would probably have to buy a weapon with money I did not possess. Perhaps I could trade for a weapon, but I would still have to disguise myself. That would be a problem because I wasn't good with disguises. Raven and Gaius would definitely find out immediately.

What to do..

After some debating, I decided I might as well see if there is anything useful left in the tree that I could take. That's when I realized that today was a festival day and if I knew that village, which I did, they would not stop any festivities for any reason.

I smirked to myself and quietly snuck towards the split road. I was able to successfully infiltrate the village and scale up the Sharance Tree steps without being caught. It was when I entered the tree that I was discovered.

It surprised me to say the least. I wasn't expecting to see Raven in the tree, even if she hadn't joined the mob in its attempt to forcibly exile me from the village. I really didn't think I would see her sleeping on my bed and cuddling my pillow. I was so shocked I almost forgot I was in enemy territory. I quickly shut the door as quietly as I could.

Apparently that wasn't too quiet because Raven woke up immediately and shot off the bed in a flustered manner. She eyed me with slight confusion clouding her face from just awakening. Taking advantage of this, I glided across the room and pinned her arms above her head. Then I gently trailed a finger down her jawline while tilting her face to face me. The grogginess in her eyes soon dissipated and she struggled involuntarily against my hold. I sighed mentally and bent down towards her face. As expected, she froze at my action. I smirked at her reaction and moved so I was facing her ear. I licked it slightly and blew on it softly. She gasped audibly at this and I relished it with pride. Then I faced her, staring straight into her eyes.

"Why are you here Raven?"

The question seemed to throw her off for a split second, but she quickly made her face stoic.

"Nothing.. I was told to empty your room but fell asleep because I was tired."

She wasn't looking at me as she said this. I couldn't really tell at first if what he said was true or not, but the blush evident on her face made me believe this piece of info was false. Usually I would never let this slide. Nonetheless, I allowed her to slip out of my grasp. She escaped to the farthest side of the room away from me. I didn't really care though, my reason for coming here was five steps away from me. After swiftly picking open the lock, I examined all of the weapons stored inside it. I took the best of every type of weapon in there meaning my best longsword, short sword, dual blades, etc.

I strapped all of these onto my weapon belt that I had specifically made to carry multiple weapons. I had made it to aid me in fighting the boss monsters of the dungeons. Who knew it would help me in this situation. The belt also had several bags and pockets originally meant for random loot items that I find. Now it's stuffed with as much food as I can take without it becoming a burden. I'm currently residing in a gigantic freezer like area so expiring food is the least of my concerns. I was satisfied with the amount of stuff I was able to grab and was walking over to the ladder leading down to the farm under the Sharance tree when I felt a tug at my clothing. I peered over my shoulder and saw Raven gazing at me with a piercing stare. I simply gave her a look that said 'follow me if you dare.' and slid down the ladder smoothly.

I jumped off the ladder at the last couple of steps and landed on the farm terrain with a dull thud. I looked up slightly and saw Raven climbing down after me. She glanced down at me and I held out my hands, a gesture that said I would catch her. She trusted me to say the least. Else she wouldn't have immediately released her hold on the ladder and allowed her body to plump down into my arms. I caught her without the slightest change in my position before letting her slowly slide out of my hold. As she was dusting herself off, I entered my barn. My tamed monsters must have recognized my presense as soon as I got down the ladder, for they crowded me as soon as the latch to the door was opened. I coaxed them to remain quiet and they obeyed without any trouble. I did my daily chores for my animals in less than half an hour, a new record I guess. Now what to do with the products. I should sell them, but it would seem suspicious if new items were placed in the shipping bin since I was just exiled. Raven must have seen my perplexed face because she nudged my shoulder to get my attention.

"I could say I came and did the chores, or I could place them in my shipping bin. Then they won't be suspicious.", she tells me without the slightest bit of hesitation in her voice.

I looked wearily at Raven. She hadn't pulled anything yet, and I didn't think she would do anything anytime soon. Better safe than sorry though.

"Why are you still talking to me? Shouldn't you be hating instead of helping me?", he asked.

Raven stood in silence, an unclear emotion flashed across her face. I stared at her with an unwavering gaze. We did this for several moments, the sound of the festival echoed into the cavern of the Sharance tree. Finally, she gave in and spoke.

"I do not hate you. I still think of you as a friend. Friends help each other. That's all.", she said.

I looked at her skeptically because it sounded like something from a story about morals. I brushed it off after thinking about it. If Raven wanted to help me then by all means, let her do it. I just won't let her get involved in my personal life. I stole a glance at her again and saw that she meant what she said. I gave her a small nod of acknowledgement. She gave me a small smile. I didn't return the smile, but I pat her softly on the head. She seemed to like it for some reason. I pulled my hand away and readjusted the things strapped on me and began to sneak out of the Sharance tree farm. I peered out of one of the side entrances and saw several of the villagers standing near the staircase. I clicked my tongue in annoyance at the people blocking my way. Then I see Raven walking up to them and drawing them away to somewhere else. She sent me a quick flick of her eyes and I nodded in response before darting out to the bushes of the split road. I peered out silently.

The old witch from the apothecary stood in the middle of the road making it impossible for me to slip by without being noticed. She must have seen me because I was soon dragged out by the collar of my shirt and dumped onto the dusty road. She loomed over me in a way that made me feel oddly submissive. Most likely because she was the woman I had to go to in order to get myself healed.

"Here Micah." Majorie said whilst holding out a small box.

I sat there dumbfounded for a moment before hastily accepting the parcel that was thrown into my arms. It was a first aid kit. I looked at her in confusion.

"I can't be there to help you anymore Micah. You have to learn to patch yourself up on your own. Best get started now. If you need a new one, put the old kit on the road here and I'll bring another the next day."

She said this almost as if yesterday had ever happened. As if reading my mind, she gave a low huff in annoyance.

"I knew you were a half from the moment I saw you. Don't look down upon us witches.", she turned and hobbled down the road back towards the village.

I stared after her, my mouth hanging open. She knew this whole time, and she's going to help me?

I sighed in exhaustion and made my way to Vale River.

* * *

So this is my first fanfiction with an actual pairing..

I know this is pretty short, but the next chapters will be longer. I promise.

I've actually had this idea on my mind for awhile now, but I've only just decided to write it down.

I know the story isn't crystal clear and all like, I didn't really explain how the villagers found out about Micah being half monster and all that. I also didn't edit alot of this, I just typed it and posted. I usually forget to check what the chapter looks like before posting it so I always forget that the lines to separate the scenes are missing. I also don't see any of my indents in this chapter either so I'll have to fix that in the later chapters. This is just the beginning so I don't think it matters too much.

Well that's all for now, bye! Hope you enjoyed my fanfic (: -AznxStarrZ


	2. Chapter 2

AznxStarrZ

Chapter 2 – My Cave Has Been Invaded

Why? Why does this always happen to me? I didn't ask for this. Yet it always happens!

I faced the monsters holding my possessions hostage. I sighed heavily. It's always a hassle to get my stuff back when the dungeon monsters take them. What's the point in them taking it anyways? Usually they would just take it and go, but today my temporary shelter has become home for a pack of Silver Wolves and Hunter Wolves. Even worse, I have no weapons on me. Nothing whatsoever.

I sigh again and take a lazy step forward causing the wolves to leap to their feet. They growled at me in warning, I ignored it. I continued to stride towards them. Eventually, a wolf launched itself at me. I didn't even glance at it as I simply thrust my arm on the underside of its outstretched forearms and swung upwards and back, effectively throwing it off without harming me or itself. I eyed all of the wolves in the cavern and deduced which was the pack leader with ease. I stood in front of it with an unwavering gaze plastered on my face.

The wolf had a beautiful golden brown pelt that seemed to shimmer because of the bits ice dusted on it. It eyed me with a dangerous glint reflecting in its pupils. I felt pretty calm at that moment. I didn't know why. I couldn't exactly fight a whole pack of wolves at once in their 'territory' and expect to live, and I couldn't transform because it would make me look like a tasty treat.

That's when I decided to do something absolutely ridiculous.

I positioned my fingers so that they formed a fox/wolf face and began waving them around in a hypnotizing manner. "I come in peace~~~." I chanted.

The wolves watched me with an eerie silence. Then, one by one, they began to howl. It sounded like they were laughing at me which kinda stung my pride, but it was also what I was aiming for so it's all good. When it ended, the wolves appeared to no longer deem my presence as a hostile threat, but rather as if I were one of their long-lost kin. I didn't really understand, but as long as they weren't going to kill me then I didn't care. They didn't even react as I took my stash of tools back and held out my weapon.

Oh well. Better for me.

I decided to go hunting for food since the wolves ate all my meat. I counted the wolves before I left. 15 wolves to feed. I grimaced inwardly and grabbed my long sword.

This is gonna be a long day..

Raven sat at the counter and absentmindedly twirled a pen between her fingers. She sighed in boredom and lay her head on the counter, letting the writing utensil slip out of her grasp. Then she heard Gaius trudging down the staircase in a very lazy manner. Raven lifted her head off the wooden structure and walked over to the forgery. She picked up a hammer and walked to the staircase where Gaius was standing half-asleep. She grabbed his hand and firmly pressed the tool onto his palm. Gaius' fingers quickly curled around the handle of the hammer and he awoke abruptly. His body filled with a shocking amount of energy and vigor that was not present just a moment ago.

"Raven! Good Morning~. How's the shop going?" He asked as he strode across the room to his beloved forge.

Raven gave him a pointed look that he may or may not have noticed and sauntered behind the counter again. She sighed again, only softer this time because Gaius was nearby. Still, he seemed to have heard it. Leaning out from his workshop area, he sent her a questioning look. Raven automatically pulled a stoic face, but Gaius' curiosity was relentless. She finally gave in to him saying she was just bored, even though she was secretly wondering how Micah was doing.

Gaius blinked and walked over to the store entrance. Raven watched in confusion as he nonchalantly flipped the 'Open' sign so that it said 'Closed' on the outside. Right outside the store seemed to be a customer, and Gaius gave him a merry wave and a smile. The person seemed mad that the store had been closed early and stomped off muttering under his breath. Raven stared at Gaius in shock, and then anger.

"You. You just made us lose a customer!" Raven was enraged now. After all that hard work just to keep the few customers coming back to the store, Gaius just had to make them lose one. She was just about ready to give him a full on lecture when he held a hand to her face.

"Relax Raven, I need to go get materials anyways. And also, I think you need to take a breather. Maybe some cool air will help you."

"But its summer right now."

"Then go to somewhere colder."

Raven scowled slightly. What was he hinting at? Oh, Right. Micah was living in Vale River wasn't he? But why does Gaius know that? She stared at him in wonder.

"I may or may not have accidentally caused a bunch of wolves to raid his sheltering place while I was out mining for ores?" He said with a nervous shrug. Raven gasped and darted past him, running towards Vale River. She didn't even realize that she was lacking any form of defense and weapon.

To say Micah was tired was an understatement. Who wouldn't be tired when they had to feed this huge mob of animals? And to top it off, they seemed to expect the same amount, if not more, every single day. Oh how he wished he had his kitchen. At least then he could cook something.

Then an idea came to him. Why didn't he just make his own cooking utensils? He already had a broadsword which could double as a knife if need be. There were plenty of ores to be found in this area, not to mention that there were the best materials known as platinum and gold. He was also sufficient in the forging area when he was back in the tree.

Hm, now that he thought about it, would the tree shrink again now that he wasn't there to 'bond' the races? Oh well, they were the ones to kick out the only person who had a chance to make the Sharance tree bloom.

Suddenly, he heard the wolves howling. He understood that some form of threat was approaching them, and that the wolves were making him go after it. He quickly grabbed his long sword and lithely scaled the cave walls to the entrance. He froze as he saw a shadow appear. Micah gripped his sword tightly and it made a slight clink. The shadow froze before ducking to the nearest hiding spot, which just so happened to be where Micah was standing. Micah fell back in surprise, but quickly recovered and maneuvered to swing his sword. Until he saw the long red locks of hair.

Micah sighed loudly, and Raven stared at him with shock. Micah got up and brushed the loose bits of snow off his clothes and trudged off, Raven trailing after him. Right before the two entered the main part of the cave, Micah stopped and gave told Raven not to show fear. They walked in and Raven was shocked to see a whole pack of wolves, several of them were staring at her like she was a rare delicacy.

"Just saying, I think most of them are female so they are quite competitive over the male members. That includes me as well, but I don't swing towards wolves. Imagine if we had kids, a wolf with wooly fur? A shaggy looking wooly? In any case, it would just be very wrong."

Raven blushed and whacked Micah on the head in embarrassment.

"I wasn't worrying about that." She defended.

Micah chuckled and continued walking towards an empty area in the cave. He sat down and patted the space next to him, inviting Raven over. She obliged, but received many deadly gazes from wolves in return.

"So what are you doing here, Raven? You couldn't possibly have come here just to visit me." Micah asked in a lenient manner.

"... It's Gaius' fault." Raven replied monotonously

"Huh?" Micah said in confusion.

"Gaius accidentally made those wolves raid your hiding spot." She looked away from Micah as she said this.

Micah's eye twitched. Gaius was the reason why he had wolves in his temporary home?

"That bastard." Micah ground out. Then he laughed. "Wonder what he did, haha! I bet he was mining too loudly and got them irritated."

Raven smiled slightly. This was the Micah she knew, he wasn't gone. Then she looked down nervously.

"So.. are you mad?" She asked quietly. Micah glanced over in question.

"About the Gaius thing? Nah. I bet he does things like this all the time. Wonder what else he's-"

"Not that!" She said loudly, shocking Micah. "Are you still mad about.. the village."

There was a pause.

Raven slowly turned to look at Micah and instantly regretted it. His eyes had turned deadly, an intimidating aura was emitting from him, making her shudder in fear.

"Raven. Although I still consider you a friend, do not mention them else I'll turn against you as well. This mess has brought too much turmoil in myself. If you wish to talk more of this then wait for my hate to die down." Then he took a couple of deep breaths and smiled brightly. "But anyways, how have you been Raven? Has the shop been doing okay?"

Raven sweatdropped over how quickly he was able to suppress his emotions. "It's been okay.. but Gaius closed the shop right in front of one of the customers before I left so I think we just lost one." She said with annoyance. Micah laughed loudly.

"Ah.. Too bad then.. but I think he'll come back." Micah said with a smile, which Raven returned.

They sat quietly for a while. Then Raven thought of something she wanted to ask Micah.

"..So how did you befriend the wolves?"

Micah blinked and positioned his fingers so that his ring and middle finger were pressed onto his thumb and his index finger and pinky were sticking up.

"I just held my hands like this and waved them around saying 'I come in peace~~~'" He said, demonstrating what he did. Raven giggled at Micah's face as he flailed his hands around. Micah smiled again and was happy to see that he still had someone he could spend time like this with. Then he noticed how dark it was getting.

"Hey Raven, as much as I would like to spend time with you, I think you should go home now. It's getting dark and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

Raven nodded and got up, brushing off the flakes of ice.

"I'll walk with you to the crossroad." Micah said.

The walked together silently to the entrance of Vale River. When they reached it, Micah felt a bit sad.

"It was nice seeing you again, Raven. I hope we can do this again sometime." He said with a halfhearted smile. Raven noticed this and her eyes softened. "Of course. I'll visit whenever I have time." Then she waved goodbye and dashed into the village, being as inconspicuous about it as possible.

Micah sighed lightly with a half smile and returned to his frosty freezer of a home.

So yeah. Um... Don't hurt me? O-o..

This chapterrr... I rushed it. I mean, I didn't even expect to get so many reviews and favorites so..

When I first saw that people were adding this story to their favorites and writing reviews, I was soooooo hype about it LOL.

Ah.. but yeah. This chapter is pretty delayed.

The problem with me is I'm more of a vocal storytelling person. Like I'll have plenty of interesting story ideas, but when I type it.. it just goes wayyyy off topic. If I say it out loud then it goes great, but not so much with writing...

The wolf idea was really irritating to me because I wanted to add wolves, but I felt it was kinda used a lot so I didn't really want to add it. I mean I love wolves but.. you know. And technically, Micah should still be able to beat them, but I felt like it would make Micah seem like an animal abuser? So I didn't make him 'take care of them'.

And as a sort of reply to the reviews I got. No, I am not going to make Shara be the 'villain' so to speak. There's a reason as to why all the villagers are so OOC like, and hopefully when I write it, it'll come out right. I am just like dying to tell you the reason, but I won't because spoilers are the worst thing to fanfiction kind.

However, in Micah's case, I want him to be OOC. I just thought, how can Micah be so cheerful in the game all the time when the other villagers make him do like, _everything_ for them.

Um... I'm not sure when I'll post the next chapter. So just a heads up in case you're wondering where the hell the chapters are. Feel free to post those reviews saying stuff like 'Post more!' or 'Hurry up and write more!' because although a lot of other writers don't seem to like it, it sort of makes me feel like I have an assignment due the next day so I'll try to finish it faster.

Also.

If anyone happens to leave a hate review (for some.. otherworldly reason) I will not hate you for it. In fact, I think that I will laugh heartily at the fact that you would spend an extra minute or so writing a review for a story that you don't like.

Helpful criticism is welcomed with open arms because if you haven't realized already, I am a noob at writing!

So thank you for reading my story and/or rant at the end.

Leave a review/rating if you feel like it.

And!

Good bye~

**** IMPORTANT ****

I am changing my pen name XxZerohZeroh so make sure you note that for further updates!


End file.
